There are drugs in the drinking water. All sorts of pharmaceuticals -- including antibiotics, sex hormones, anti-convulsion drugs, psychiatric drugs, painkillers, epileptic medications, and chemicals to treat high cholesterol, have been found in drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, according to a stunning investigation conducted by the Associated Press.

The report, available here for about 30 days, features findings on a mind boggling number of pharmaceuticals currently found in metropolitan drinking water supplies.

While the report mentions in the second paragraph that concentrations of pharmaceuticals found are tiny, and municipal water suppliers insist their treated water is safe, the findings have scientists concerned about long-term consequences towards human health.

If you're wondering how so many drugs are getting into the water, it's really fairly simple. People consume pharmaceuticals and pass percentages of those chemical substances unabsorbed, back into the water supply, when waste is flushed down the toilet. While waste water is treated before it enters rivers, reservoirs and lakes, some water is cleaned at treatment plants and piped back into consumer water supplies.

According to the report, representatives for the pharmaceutical industry claim that contamination of water supplies is not a problem, and city water officials maintain water supplies are safe. What has scientists so greatly concerned is the fact that the federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set any safety limits for drugs found in municipal water supplies.

In tests performed across the nation, trace residues of pharmaceuticals included medicines such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, carbamazepine, estrogen, painkillers, epilepsy medications, and many others. According to the report, 63 different pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city of Philadelphia's watersheds, and both anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of treated water supplies that serve nearly 19 million people in Southern California.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, the agency enforces federal clean water and safe drinking water laws, provides support for municipal wastewater treatment plants, and takes part in pollution prevention efforts aimed at protecting watersheds and sources of drinking water.

At the Carolina Environmental Program 2006 Symposium, Benjamin Grumbles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, stated "There are opportunities to reduce loadings by moving away from agricultural use of drugs that promote animal growth, promoting drug recycling programs, ensuring that drugs are properly managed in hospitals and health care facilities, and encouraging pharmaceutical companies to reduce impurities within their products that can enter the environment." He was quoted in the AP report and says the agency is taking addressing the growing concern very seriously.

Full article here.